Ebisu. Études japonaises Numéro 60 La judiciarisation des enjeux sociaux et environnementaux au Japon: continuités, transformations, évolutions (The Judicialization of Social and Environmental Issues in Japan. Continuities, transformations, evolutions)

French and international studies on judicialisation pay little attention to Japan, where the phenomenon is only marginally discussed. Entitled The Judicialization of Social and Environmental Issues in Japan. Continuities, Transformations, Evolutions, this special issue aims to remedy such a dual shortcoming. It draws on the numerous exchanges that the research programme Judicialisation of social and environmental issues in France and Japan, conducted at the IFRJ-MJF between 2021 and 2023, has made possible. Led by Adrienne Sala, and involving Isabelle Giraudou in particular, this project intended to develop a conceptualisation of the role of the judicial institution in the development of public policy.
 
Existing literature has focused primarily on certain aspects of judicial life in Japan, namely: a supposedly moderate “legal consciousness,” limited judicial activism, and a predominant search for consensus. Taking a more nuanced approach, this dossier views judicialisation as a social and political phenomenon embedded in an evolving institutional and normative context. Building on this approach, it enriches our understanding of the role and influence of the judiciary in public policy-making in Japan. Adopting a bottom-up approach to the interactions between law and society, the contributions in this special issue (eight articles and one interview) shed light on the political and social significance of the judiciary in Japanese democracy.
 
Several contributions in this issue examine the role of Japanese legal professionals in formulating claims, highlighting their ability to make the most of the restrictive legal framework of liability. Looking back on the centenary of civil conciliation (minji chōtei 民事調停), celebrated in 2022, Béatrice Jaluzot explores alternative methods of conflict resolution beyond the traditional procedural framework of litigation. Dimitri Vanoverbeke’s contribution offers a critical analysis of judicial reform and the introduction of the lay jury system (the saiban.in 裁判員 system) at the start of the 21st century. Offering additional insight, the text by Kage Rieko 鹿毛利枝子 (tr. Nakamura Sota) analyzes in detail the process that led to the development of the jury system, a key component of jjudicialisation and a decisive factor in its development in 21st-century Japan. The following five contributions (Machimura Yasutaka 町村泰貴, Mizumachi Yūichirō 水町勇一郎, Okubo Noriko 大久保規, Isabelle Giraudou, Isabelle Konuma) examine the influence of litigation on changes in the law in the areas of consumer affairs, labor, the environment, and family law. Concluding this special issue, Celeste Arrington, in an interview conducted and translated by Adrienne Sala, analyses the interactions between law, judicial activism, and public policy-making, with a particular focus on Japan and South Korea.
 
Taken as a whole, these contributions demonstrate the value of continuing to study the complex dynamics between the judicial, executive and legislative branches, on which the conceptualisation of Japanese judicial bodies and their integration into public policy theories depend, at least in part.
 

(Written by GIRAUDOU Isabelle, Professor, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences / 2026)